The 7 best apps to make eating easier

There are so many apps out there culinary connoisseurs — so get buying! Picture: stocksy.com

DOES the inability to walk into any supermarket/service station/relative’s house and pick up a snack without 25 minutes of consideration sound familiar?

Restrictive diets are varied and individual, but what they all have in common is that adhering to them is sometimes a hassle. So if convenience, not commitment, is your issue then give these pain-relieving apps a go.

It’s easy to control what goes in when you’re making food for yourself, but sometimes your only options are service station fare, eating from a vending machine or going hungry. For one, who knew, that while morally questionable for those of the vegetarian persuasion, Roast Chicken Pringles are actually vegan friendly? If you want to know which foods have animal products in them, then just scan the barcode to Is it Vegan and your question is answered.

The world’s most popular vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurant guide app, Happy Cow has recently upgraded to a full travel edition. So now no matter where you are, what city or neighbourhood you are in, you’ll be able to find an eatery to suit.

Apps that are vegetarian or vegan for moral reasons abound, but rarely do you find an example that is as explicitly anti-militant in tone as The Whole Pantry. A series of ‘wellness’ guides, healthy eating resources, galleries and recipes; The Whole Pantry is an app designed to get people using the untapped potential of their pantry coupled with health inspiration. Updates are sent regularly with new recipes all beautifully designed in magazine-quality spreads.

At $7.49, it’s the most expensive entry on the list but Nom Nom paleo is hands down the leader when it comes to grain-free and sugar-free diet apps. Featuring recipes and galleries, the paleo app caters for all cooking skill levels, including step-by-step images to help guide novices through the preparation process.

Good grief! Eating out when on a gluten-free diet is sometimes fantastically difficult. And while coeliac sufferers have a very real intolerance, there is no denying it’s also become a popular lifestyle diet too. Stacks of restaurants now offer gluten-free options on the menu, however, sometimes you want to be extra sure without the inevitable ‘no, really no bread’ conversation. To find specifically gluten-free eateries near you, try The Gluten Free Eating Directory.

There is a flood of gluten-free shopping aids on the market, but none as accurate as the GlutenSwitch filter on Bupa Australia’s popular FoodSwitch app. Foodswitch is an app that sets out to help Australians make better health choices at the supermarket. Simply scan a barcode and review the selected product and its competitor’s profiles to see which is the healthiest product option. Select the GlutenSwitch filter and if your chosen product is positive then head down the aisle to its gluten-free alternative.

It’s easy to check if these are gluten free or not. Picture: stocksy.com

Pescetarians unite! While avoiding all animal proteins bar seafood is a noble dietary position, concerns around the support of unsustainable seafood sourcing do crop up. Here’s where the Sustainable Seafood Guide steps in, giving instant updates on whether your supermarket and menu options are the overfished or viable industry type of seafood.